


The Animal Side

by DeadStar



Series: Riddick [1]
Category: Chronicles of Riddick Series, Pitch Black (2000)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Swearing, Teenage Rebellion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2017-12-24 22:20:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadStar/pseuds/DeadStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set before Chronicles of Riddick but after Pitch Black where Jack has yet to become Kyra and hasnt become the rebellious young woman Riddick finds on Crematoria.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. JACK

**Author's Note:**

> No Beta so mistakes are my own.

Jack was crouched down against the wall, her t shirt clung to her back, wet and sticky as the rain had practically drowned her but she didn’t care, her mind was focused elsewhere, on somebody else as she watched him cross the road in a hurry to get to the other side, a half assed attempt to cover his head with an overly read newspaper. 

She smiled as she watched him almost trip up on the kerb outside the diner, it was a place that she visited before, nothing spectacular but the food was hot and it filled the empty spot in the bottom of your stomach. He pushed the door open and sat himself down by the window and a woman, the waitress she recognised instantly came over and filled a cup for him of coffee. He had the same thing every night at 8pm, after his shift changed he would drop by the diner and get his fuel before heading back home, he was working as a temporary security officer for a private trading company. 

His proper job, well if you could call it that was a Merc and he had followed her to the ass end of space and he knew that she was still here but he hadn’t found her but she had found him and had been watching him for a number of weeks now. In her crouched spot she watched through blinkered rain as he downed the hot liquid in record time before leaving the diner dropping a couple of UD’s on the table before him. 

She knew his path, had stalked his home, his workplace she could even tell you what the man ate for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon but for now she would just watch him as he made his way back to his dingy apartment which he rented. She had acquired which spot she was going to surprise him in, she knew exactly where it was and she had timed it to perfection, she moved ahead of him, ahead of the crowd to beat him to the spot where she would make her move. Everything was set, as she crouched down in her favourite spot, the shiv ready in her hand as she locked on her target. 

The bastard had caught her two years ago, he used her to try and uncover where Riddick was but she had said nothing and for her dedication to the man who had rescued her years earlier, Max Johnson had tortured her in the most inexplicable way. The crowd had fallen by the wayside, rain tended to do that to people, they didn’t like the rain at all and so the streets were barely overcrowded with men and women. Jack felt her muscles tense as the time for the kill drew in ever closer, he wouldn’t be the first she had killed over the years and she had envisioned he wouldn’t be the last either, licking her now dry lips she turned slightly until she watched him pass her by. 

Edging closer along the wall she felt a large hand encompass her stopping her from making any sound whilst a second hand was wrapping itself round her waist and pulling her back, away from her prey and away from the kill she had been planning for weeks. She tipped her head forwards and in one swift movement snapped it back, head butting her assailant feeling his grip on her loosen enough for her to drop and roll to safety, the security guard now out of reach. Hearing a soft groan she swivelled round and gave a good kick to the crotch and watched the tall figure drop to his knees as one hand covered his nose.

“Fucker” she hissed as she turned and ran full pelt away from him, she couldn’t hang around and wait to see what other Merc had chanced upon her, she thought she had been careful enough to cover tracks obviously not careful enough. The man watched the figure sprint fiercely away from him as he rested his hands on his knees, a small trickle of blood dripped from his nose and onto the back of his hand as he tried to regain his breath after the beating his groin had just had.

“Shit kid” his voice slightly hoarse as he watched her disappear into the rain soaked night, not once chancing a look over her shoulder, he smiled and shook his head, Richard B Riddick had hoped for a warmer reunion with Jack. Stretching his muscles he had watched the disappearing form leave his sight, this was not the same Jack he had left on New Mecca those five years ago, this was a completely different person altogether. She had certainly grown in more areas than most women, her long dark brown hair had been partially braided and tied back and it had a certain natural curl to it that bounced when she moved. 

Jack was certainly not mistaken for a male this time round and that was for certain, she had caught him good though, he hadn’t been expecting the head butt nor the kick in the crotch shortly afterwards, she had been trained well. His eyes didn’t miss the fact that her body had grown in all the right places that a good looking woman should have, curved hips and something else she hadn’t much of the last time he saw her, a chest.

“Maybe not a kid anymore” he whispered.


	2. ECHOES OF THE PAST

Ruined, weeks of planning ruined by some asshole trying to grope her in a dark alley, Jack paced the small space that was her rented apartment and cursed through gritted teeth, her body cried out for her to take the wet clothes off and finally when she had calmed down she peeled off her t-shirt and dropped it into the linen basket by the bathroom door. 

Pulling off her boots she started to run the water in the shower, feeling the warm water drip through the fingers of her outstretched hand as she tested it. After stripping she stepped in and allowed the water take control, tipping her head back she felt the water punctuate her skin and pores washing away the nights grime and dirt that came from hiding in dirty darkened alleys. Placing the palms of her hands against the cold white tile of the cubicle she closed her eyes as she allowed the water to run down her neck and back as she lowered her head and closed her eyes. 

“Stupid” she muttered to herself, slowly shaking her head from side to side.

She started to work out another plan in her head, another place to catch him out, she had already figured on three places she could bring the guard down and the first most secure place had been where she had been last, before her groper decided to drop in. The strange thing was that she hadn’t even heard him coming and that wasn’t like her, normally she got the drop on people before they even realised it. Shaking her head she turned the water off and grabbed a towel wrapping it around her body and after picking up the dirty clothes from off of the floor and putting them in the basket she moved to the bedroom where she pulled out a drawer with fresh, clean clothes. 

Nothing spectacular but that was the whole point, grabbing a pair of khaki cargo pants, a black fitted t-shirt and simple underwear she put them on the bed ready for when she was going to change. Outside the rain had stopped and the air warmed up a bit, it was always the same, after the rains had stopped the atmosphere would instantly warm up allowing people to walk about in short sleeved shirts even in the middle of the night. Some people didn’t like getting caught out, carried coats with them wherever they went but not Jack, she hated coats, preferred to feel the rain on her skin, checking the chronometer on the wall of her bedroom she sighed. 

She was too wired to sleep, so after changing and putting her boots back on she grabbed a few UD’s from a small box she kept hidden under the floorboards in her bathroom and headed back out. The rain covered street shimmered with the reflections of neon signs that hung from various establishments. From the open all hour diners to the seedy bars and clubs that were frequented by all sorts of people. 

Jack found her favourite bar and slipped in quietly; dropping a few credits down on the bar she took the cold bottle of beer and headed for favourite corner of the room, a darkened corner where nobody tended to bother you. There were dancers here, semi-clad women who would dance for you given the right amount of attention and credits but that wasn’t Jack’s thing, she just liked the solitude factor and that no one bothered her. 

She observed the place, typical for a Thursday night, few revellers and a couple of hookers trying to ply their trade to anyone who would listen, she pulled out a heavily folded piece of paper like she had done many hundreds of times before and opened it up. A letter from Imam, telling her all his news and the fact that his daughter was still eager to meet with her, Jack smiled it was the only thing that she could connect with and the closest she got to what she called a family even if it wasn’t her own. 

The letter had been written years ago, not long after she had left New Mecca and Imam had tracked her down, he spoke of Riddick briefly and that he hadn’t spoken or seen him since he left, no surprise there, Jack hadn’t seen him in over five years, hell she didn’t even know if the big guy was still alive. 

She took the beer bottle and knocked back a mouthful of the cool amber nectar as her eyes scanned the room once more, she spotted one figure at the opposite end, couldn’t quite make out whether it was male or female but going on size alone she figured male. He wore a hood so his face was obscured, he didn’t want to be bothered and she could understand that, not many people who came here wanted to be bothered.

Riddick had first heard about Jack seven months before, she had caused quite a ruckus on Altair Prime where she had the good graces to kill several Mercs who had been tracking her, there was a price on her head and had been ever since she had left New Mecca. Mercs wanted her just as badly as they had wanted him, she was their best lead to him but she had evaded capture every time but the one big difference was that she had now killed and her killing spree was out of control. 

He had created a monster in his own image, the once thirteen year old girl with a fixation on the big bad had turned into the big bad herself and that disappointed him and a part of him had died when he had heard that his Jack had flown the relative safety of New Mecca and followed a path of destruction like he had. 

Now he had tracked her down, he wanted to give her back some sense of normality, he wanted to try and keep her safe from the dangers of the world but he feared his concern was a little too late. He watched as she confidently strode into the bar, paid for her drink and took the darkest corner to sit in where she could observe everyone and everything from her perspective. She had changed, so much; her shaved head was replaced by long flowing locks of dark brown hair and she had seen fit to remove herself of the goggles. 

Her body was lithe but well toned, she was somebody who had worked out daily and he could tell by the way her muscles tensed and relaxed, she wasn’t the kid he remembered all those years before, in fact far from it. She wore a fitted black t-shirt that bared her midriff, a daring maneuver considering the clientele of the place but she wore it with authority and the crystal look in her eyes meant that anyone trying to mess with her would get a good sharp kick to the crotch and nobody knew better than him as he winced at a parting memory. 

Tilting his gaze he started to look at her with a different eye, not looking at her like the child but now as a woman, a different animal altogether, he watched as a man approached her smiling and obviously about to try it on.

“Hey darling, how about you and me go for a walk?” he smiled as he leant down and leaned in closer.

“How 'bout you fuck off” she replied as she took the bottle and finished off the rest of her drink before standing up and putting the folded piece of paper away back in her pocket.

“That’s not a very nice mouth you have there, could get you into trouble little girl” he stiffened as she stood up, a glint in his eye.

“What do you want old man?” she pushed past him as he grabbed her arm to spin her around, she swung with her right hand and punched him square on the nose making him falter backwards but quickly regaining his composure.

“You’ll pay for that bitch” he spluttered as he reached for the weapon at his side but was stopped almost instantly as Jack pulled a shiv from her pocket and whirled round to press it up against his neck, the sharpened end sticking into his skin.

“Nobody calls me bitch, nobody…” she seethed as she pressed her body up against his own effectively pinning him against her and the booth she had just vacated.

“Hey, sorry, no harm no foul, just a little fun okay, don’t get all female on me Jesus” he smiled as he noted the look of rage in her eyes.

“You ever lay a finger on me again and I promise you, the only thing you’ll be feeling is your own blood as I cut your fucking throat, you got it?” she was practically head to head with him.

“Yeah, sure, no problem” he nodded as she slowly withdrew the shiv from his throat whilst his eyes looked down to see the one that had been perilously touching his manhood.

“Good that we see eye to eye on this” she nodded as she walked off replacing her shivs as she left the bar.

Riddick smiled, she was quick, real quick and he hadn’t spotted the other shiv until she had pulled partially away from the man, the guy made some noise trying to get any part of his manhood back in working order in front of his friends, sounding off and finally when nobody was listening had sat down and continued to nurse his drink. Riddick stood, paid for his drink and left the bar in time to see her whirl from round the corner and stand defiantly in the alley before him, she had known all along, damn she was good.


	3. ESCAPE

You’ve been following me, watching me and I want to know why” she said.

“Haven’t figured it out yet Jack?” he spoke as he looked her up and down in closer detail.

Jack’s head tilted at the familiarity of the voice, she narrowed her eyes at the stranger in front of her that had seen fit to observe her from the bar and now following her outside, taking a step backwards she shook her head.

“You’re not him, he’s dead” she turned then and went to move away but a hand on her shoulder stopped her, she didn’t flinch

“Jack” he said again as he felt her muscled shoulder tense under his grip.

“I don’t know you mister” she replied, no emotion betraying her, she had taught herself never to show emotion that could be used against her.

“No more the little girl huh?” he gently turned her around to face him, pushing the hood from his head, she saw the silver orbs that was the shine job on his eyes and at that moment her angry face had disappeared.

“You’re better off not being around me” she said in a calmer tone then as the door to the bar opened and the guy that had tried it on with her earlier stumbled out.

“Oh, there she is, big macho girl, only good thing bitches like you are good for is fucking” he laughed as he straightened out his jacket.

“Guess you never learned your lesson, I could’ve sworn I said I didn’t like it when people called me bitch, are you deaf? Do you need me to speak up a little bit?” Jack pushed passed Riddick and stepped up to the guy.

“Little girl like you needs a spanking” he poked her hard in-between her breasts.

“Okay, then why don’t you do it big guy and after you’ve tried I will personally cut your nuts off and serve them to you on a silver platter” she poked him back in the chest a little harder and grabbed a hold of his jacket bringing him in close as she head butted him hard watching as he staggered backwards this time out for the count.

“Nobody calls me bitch” she said before backing up and then past Riddick.

He watched her leave, he knew she would return to the apartment where he had seen her leave earlier and he watched her disappear into the night for the second time before his attention returned to the man lying on the ground at his feet.

“Bitch” he muttered as she rubbed the point on his forehead where she had caught him.

Riddick slid a shiv out from its sheath and in one swift blow had slit the man’s throat without so much of a whimper before disappearing himself into the darkness, Jack had contained her emotions until she managed to get to her apartment. 

It was Riddick; he had come to the planet but what for? Certainly not for her surely? Opening a locker by the entrance to the small galley kitchen she pulled a rucksack out and picked up a few items of clothes stashing them in the pack before heading for her hidden box of Universal Dollars and shivs which she also hid in her pack. 

Jack liked to travel light it made for a quicker escape if anything happened and she felt she had outworn her welcome. Closing and locking the door behind her she pulled the hood of the garment under her leather coat up and over her head then walked briskly to the terminal where she intended on getting a one way ticket off the planet using the false ID she had made for herself. 

She was quick, quickest she had ever been leaving a place she had lived in and by the time she had reached the terminal dawn was breaking, every now and again she would cast eyes over her shoulder just in case but she never found him, this time she had slipped past him unnoticed. Riddick had found her apartment after memorising the route from earlier, knocking on the door quietly he waited and listened for some kind of noise but found the place strangely silent. 

He placed his hands in the door testing its give and found it quite sturdy, to force it would only cause undue attention but he figured she wasn’t in. closing his eyes he imagined what he would do if in her shoes, hitting the door with the palm of his hands he moved swiftly heading back the way he had come, back towards the terminal. He moved silently through the gathering crowds of people, his eyes darting everywhere under the protection of his goggles, he was having problems spotting her as he neared a bank of small monitors that showed departure and arrival times on transports.

“Where are you Jack” he muttered to himself.

Jack kept her head down as she moved slowly through and around people careful to dodge in house security, the price on her head meant that anyone with an average IQ and a thirst for a couple thousand UD’s wouldn’t even blink in taking a shot at the bounty. She had thought she was going to make a clean getaway but she hadn’t counted on Travis Cole, the Merc that had been on her ass for the last five months had now eventually caught up with her and was not alone. Last time he cornered her he was in the company of two others, not enough to take her down as she had permanently left him with a parting gift as she had stuck a shiv in his shoulder scarring him for life and now she could plainly see he wanted payback.

“Ah fuck” she muttered as she straightened and dropped her pack, she counted five this time and knew she was in for a bit of a rumble.

Taking off her jacket and the hooded top she placed them neatly on her pack and straightened out the padded waistcoat she wore, hidden pockets kept her shivs out of sight, it gave her more free range to move too, not restrictive for arm movement. She also noted the decrease in traffic like people were aware of what was going on and had decided not get involved, suited her just fine; she could just concentrate on the task at hand. 

Cole smiled as he dropped his gear and nodded to his people to flank out to the sides, Jack remained perfectly still, eyes trained on them all as they circled around her like predatory animals in a pack. She looked around to see what she could use to her advantage, above her head was beams, she could use them to jump clear or attack from above using her legs and then there were the many crates scattered around ready for loading. 

She also gauged the reactions of Cole’s people; three of them looked real nervous and clutched the blades in their hands like they were going out of fashion which meant they were new to the Merc game, good, another advantage. She relaxed her stance and pulled her shivs out slowly as Cole took a tentative step backwards; he was actually going to allow his other friends to tire her out first before he got to play, very clever. 

She allowed the full onslaught to start as two moved in from behind, she dodged and sent one flying with a backwards head butt whilst the other tried to reach out for her wrist was met with her swinging her other arm round and catching him in his neck with the tip of her shiv. 

He staggered backwards clutching at the wound, blood slowly seeping through his fingers as his eyes went wide, his next decision saved his life as he refused to get anymore involved with the situation and promptly left through a large set of doors behind her. The third guy moved more like a cat and pounced on her as she had side stepped to dodge another blow; she was lifted up and physically thrown through the double set of doors and skidded to a halt on her ass.


	4. HER

“Fucker” she hissed as she got back up like an expert gymnast in one flowing movement, running the back of her hand across her cheek where his fist had only seconds earlier connected with her skin making it sting.

In a surprise move she launched herself at him, shiv low at her side and they fell onto the floor, him on top of her, his body weight bigger than her own was pinning her down on the cold floor as his hands pushed the shiv back down near her left eye and she was doing everything in order to stop him fulfilling his actions. Riddick had seen a guy push through the crowds, he had pushed a piece of rag to his neck which was now bleeding profusely, he had kept looking back over his shoulder like he was being stalked and as he passed in front of Riddick was mumbling something about never joining the Merc in the first place. 

Riddick growled and moved in the direction of where the hapless young man had come from, down a corridor he saw a set of double doors swing open with a bang and a body arc through the air before being unceremoniously dumped onto the tile floor. He recognised the figure immediately as it got up and launched in her own attack at the man whilst another two men approached through the doors, his pace quickened as he neared the sight of the fracas. Jack had improved in her art of survival, he made a mental note to point out the finer art of staying out of trouble then dumped that idea when he realised that it hadn’t really worked for him much. Grabbing the guy off of Jack he threw him to once side and stood over her horizontal form like a barrier so she could get up without being pounced on.

“This aint your concern stranger, why don’t you move on” Cole said as he looked over to Jack.

“Four grown men picking on a young woman and it aint my concern?” Riddick growled as he felt Jack brush up against his arm and move to one side.

“No, move on” Cole’s voice dropped an octave to push his point home.

“Cant do that” Riddick shook his head and smiled.

Behind Travis the air stirred as a woman came to a stop, she had been watching the interaction and had her interest piqued, not until the arrival of the other man had she decided that maybe the odds needed to be leveled out once more. Riddick spotted her at once and tilted his head as if it would afford him a better view of her, she stood a little under six foot tall and was athletic looking enough, her cherry red low-lighted jet black hair had been pulled back into a slick ponytail. 

The khaki combat trousers she wore matched perfectly with the combat boots and fitted black t-shirt that left a little of midriff on display, around the navel a small tribal tattoo encircled it. Jack looked at the woman in front of them and noticed she wore the boots that she herself had been admiring in the window of a local clothes emporium on the station but hers were worn, battered but still perfectly in good shape. Alex Delaney stood firm, her shivs remained in her pockets, she could easily level the playing field without resorting to cutting flesh unless it came down to that. 

Behind him, Travis also felt like someone was watching him and turned to look at the new player to the field, he recognised her immediately, the next target on his wanted list.

“Delaney” he muttered.

“Hear you been looking for me Cole, starting shit with my people, don’t take too kindly to people hurting family, you know how this has to end don’t you Cole?” she spoke calmly as her eyes darted to Riddick and Jack then to Cole’s companions.

“Well, kind of in a middle of something right now but I’ll get round to you” Cole smiled as he fingered a short handled blade.

“Tough. I’m here, you want me? Take your best shot now Cole” her fierce grey eyes stared at him full of anger.

His three other companions by now had withdrawn weapons and were pointing them a safe distance at Riddick and Jack, the latter had found sense to stay near to Riddick watching his back as one Merc leveled his gun at her head.

“Let me make this easier for you, you get the first shot” she said with a grin as she held out her hands and turned round to prove she was unarmed.

Cole laughed as he replaced his blade in its sheath and approached her slowly, she was at least a person of their word as he snapped his right fist back before landing one of her chin knocking her head back and splitting her lip. She leveled her head and ran her tongue over where she felt the blow, the cut bottom lip started to bleed as she rolled her wet tongue over it tasting the metallic blood, Jack winced when she watched their altercation. 

“My turn” she said as she tilted her neck left and right hearing the audible crack of bones.

Cole for an instant felt a little apprehensive as he considered what moves she was going to pull and in that instant she used it to her advantage as she punched him back square on the nose hearing the crack then seeing profuse amount of blood stream from his nostrils, his hand instinctively reached to his nose wiping the blood.

“You bitch, you broke my fucking nose” he spluttered as he staggered back a few paces.

Slowly she moved forwards and with her right hand grabbed his neck, his hands instinctively wrapped around her own hand as she pushed him backwards up against the wall, a shiv in her left hand appeared and Cole’s eyes went wide. She pushed it up against his neck and slowly dug the tip into his flesh, without taking her eyes from off of him she pulled it across the centre of his neck as his body reacted to the attack. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as she felt his body go limp in her grip, letting go of him she watched his dead weight drop to the floor at her feet, casting a look over her shoulder to the three remaining Mercs they hesitantly were giving each other concerned looks before backing off and finally with a heightened sense ran to one of the exit doors. 

Alex crouched and wiped the blood from her shiv on Cole’s clothes before searching him and finding a wad of UD’s which she pocketed, the list of bounties he was looking for and the start-up codes for Cole’s ship, all of which she pocketed before standing and turning to leave the scene. Riddick had considered checking the body for himself but she had already beaten him to it, he watched transfixed when she had deposed of Cole with such efficiency, it was the perfect kill, one he would’ve been proud of himself had he done it. He watched her leave as she disappeared through one of the exits, turning he was going to pick up his conversation with Jack and found her walking off picking up her pack as she made a bee-line for the stranger.

“Jack” he called out after her, she stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder to regard him.

“What?” she said.

“Don’t be running out on me now” he muttered as he caught up with her.


	5. A POSSIBLE WAY OUT

Taking a deep and controlled breath, Alex strode confidently to the docking control officer; his navy uniformed body differed slightly with the identification of rank on his left shoulder and the tag over his left breast. He was studying the contents of a clipboard as she neared him, sensing her closeness to him he looked up and smiled, another customer, another UD in the bank, stowing his clipboard he gave his full attention.

“Hey, how can I help you?” he smiled his typical pearly toothed grin, the one he kept only for the ladies.

“My ship’s in dock, the Sirius, just want to know when I can expect the refuelling finished and how much its going to cost me?” she smiled back at him and leant on the counter that doubled as his desk.

She was going to use the Mercs ship to get away, she had gotten herself to the station using stolen identification and money earned by doing the kind of jobs no one else enjoyed doing, usually roughing people up which was what she was good at.

“The Sirius? Let me have a look” he tapped at the keyboard and watched the monitor in front of him light up with several docked ships in rotation to receive a refuel.

“You’re due in the next slot, the Avenger is in before you, should be ready in the next three hours and the cost is 500UD’s” he smiled and looked back up at her as she pulled a wad of notes from her pants pocket and counted them out onto the counter.

“Good, I’ll be wanting to leave as soon as it’s been refuelled” she nodded as he handed her a receipt.

“So soon?” he licked his dry lips as he put the cash into the safe behind him.

“Hey…Mack, look, there’s these three guys who have been following me all over the station, kinda funky looking dudes who don’t sit well with me, I’m worried they may try and gain access to my ship, is there any chance…” she trailed off after she had read his name on his uniform, she pulled one of her weak female routines in order to get Mack to take up the ball.

“No problem, we’ll lock your ship down until you return and I’ll make sure that those guys wont be able to follow you, you have my word” he leaned in closer as she winked at him and backed off throwing him a courteous glance over her shoulder.

“Men” she smiled to herself as she headed for the main concourse, that was the three other Mercs taken care of, but three hours was a long time to wait when you had one dead Merc in the cargo bay, one running about with his throat slit and two civvies that had seen everything.

Ducking into a small cafe she took a seat by the window, close to an exit and ordered a chicken salad sandwich with some soda concoction that was rumoured to rot your insides, she didn’t care, and she would enjoy her meal all the same. At the back of the cafe Jack was polishing off the last of the strawberry milkshake and cookies that she had bought twenty minutes earlier whilst Riddick still nursed the lukewarm cup of coffee. He had seen her walk in, seen her sit down and notice how she clocked every person in the room including him and Jack and had made a mental note of all the exits too exactly what he had done when he had walked into the establishment. 

He had practically frogmarched Jack to the main concourse of the station, found a small cafe and had sat her down before giving her that parental conversation which he almost baulked at and proceeded to calm down a fuse when he had heard how hard she had it the last couple of years or so. Jack had been bending his ear when she had walked in, his body shifted slightly in the chair, he was still listening, of course he was but his eyes were on the woman sat beside the window watching everyone in the secluded space.

His mind had been full of thoughts ever since he had witnessed her kill the Merc in the cargo bay, she was so nonchalant over the whole matter which meant that either it had become a way of life for her or that she was just nuts and got her rocks off by killing people, either way he was drawn inexplicably to her for reasons he knew he should just best leave alone. Riddick had never shied away from a gut instinct though and as much as his head was telling him to not get involved with the whole affair, his gut was telling him something altogether different, his gut was telling him that birds of a feather flock together.

“Maybe we can get off the station with her help, I mean we haven’t enough money between us to buy one ticket let alone two and I’m sure as hell that they’ll probably be out there looking for us, her too Id imagine” Jack said as she stirred the straw around the empty glass noting that Riddick's attention span had shifted somewhat from their initial conversation to the woman sat by the door, the woman from earlier.

“Cant afford the attention you know that kid…I need the bathroom, stay put” he muttered as he finally let go of the cup and pushed it away from him before getting up and disappearing to the rear of the cafe.

“Yeah, yeah” Jack smiled as she picked up her pack and slowly moved to where the woman was sitting, sliding into the empty chair opposite her, Alex took a bite of her sandwich and didn’t even bat an eyelid.

“Earlier, I just wanted to say thanks but we had it covered” Jack whispered not wanting to pique anymore public interest.

“I’m sure you did” Alex replied as she chewed slowly before swallowing, opening the can of soda she took a few mouthfuls of the cold liquid and felt the satisfactory fizz in her mouth before it slid down her throat.

“I mean it, five on my own was probably risky but the big guy would’ve sorted them out no trouble, he can handle himself quite well” Jack smiled as she casually reminisced Riddick's past encounters with Mercs and the like.

“I’m sure he would have” Alex muttered as she bit into the sandwich once more and savoured the flavours in her mouth that the reconstituted chicken and salad tasted like, fresh chicken was a commodity unheard of in places like this.

“So, you had a beef with the main Merc, I know how that feels, Mercs tend to want me dead too, guilty by association y’know?” Jack let a small part of her defences drop then and Alex sensed that she probably was telling the truth, the eyes spoke volumes when the mouth didn’t.

“It’s a hard life” Alex nodded as she pulled a UD out and placed it on the small plate where a passing waitress had dumped the bill.

“Look, I know this is forward but me and the big guy we need to get off the station badly, I don’t want him knocking some heads in order to leave, you know, is there any chance you could help us out?” Jack was pleading with her eyes as she looked for some kind of kindred spirit in the woman before her.

“I don’t take hitchhikers” she responded as she downed the remainder of her drink and placed the empty can down upon the now empty plate.

“Please, I wouldn’t ask otherwise, we’ll get off at your next drop, anything to get off this shitty station and Im willing to do whatever work you have in exchange for room and board” Jack dropped her gaze then, pulling some of the same stunts that Alex had used not so long ago.

Alex let out a small sigh, the kid looked genuine enough but Alex had been burned once before and had learned the hard way but still it wasn't as if she couldn't handle herself, the kid wasn't the issue here, it was her babysitter that concerned her the most, the guy looked like an amoured tank. Still, the company would be nice on some small level and she was reminded of nobody had given her a chance back in the day so her doing this one good deed may put everything right with the man upstairs when the time came.

“Docking Bay 5, a ship called the Sirius…two hours, be there on time or I’ll leave without you, I wont wait” against her better judgment she replied before her head frantically told her off for doing something stupid.

“Absolutely, thank you, thank you so much” Jack’s smile returned to her face then as she watched the woman get up from the table.

When Riddick left the bathroom, he hadn’t spent long in there and for good reason as when he looked to the table where he had left Jack he had found that she had wandered over to the strangers table, she never did what she was told. He stood back in the shadow of the door frame and watched the interaction between the two, the woman seemed nonplussed about the conversation she seemed to be having with Jack whereas the younger woman, his charge, seemed fucking delighted with herself.

“Fuck” he muttered as he watched the woman stand then look across to where he was standing before looking back at Jack, a look of understanding pass between them before the woman left, Jack was grinning and he got instantly nervous with that.


	6. MY SIDE, YOUR SIDE

“If I tell you to stay put kid, you stay put, it doesn’t mean go wander off and speak to strangers especially ones who kill” he said as they walked towards the docking bay, his voice low and angry, they couldn't afford any more mistakes.

“Yeah well, if I hadn’t you’d probably be causing more attention for us by knocking heads together just to get off this shitty little station” she muttered as her eyes darted over the rows of docking berths looking for the Sirius.

“Next time I’m tying you up and putting a gag in your mouth if it’s the only way you’re ever going to do as you’re told” he growled at her in that way she knew the conversation wasn’t going to end the way she was hoping.

“Promise?” Jack smiled at her own joke as they neared the berth to the Sirius, sure enough the stranger was there checking over the ship and turned when she heard them approach.

“The name’s Alex Delaney, this isn’t my ship it’s the Mercs but seeing as he has no need for it I thought Id make better use of it, I’m heading for Helion 4 so if you want to come along then fine…there’s only one rule, don’t fuck with me and I wont fuck with you…so, you coming?” she stopped part way on the ramp and looked down at them.

“Deal” Riddick said before Jack could get them into anymore trouble and proceeded up the ramp and into the ship.

Alex hadn’t much time to get the feel of the ship but she had already inputted the co-ordinates for her destination and had locked the auto-pilot to engage as soon as they were clear of the station which hadn’t taken as long as she had expected. She had also locked the navigational and main computer to a secure encryption of her own design, there was no way the two strangers were going to pull a shifty on her when she was asleep.

Riddick for his part had taken the time to walk the entire length of the ship and had counted two large bedrooms opposite each other, a galley kitchen, two cargo bays that seemed packed with rations, equipment and other things Mercs loved including a large crate of bottles of beer. There was also a door which was locked and no matter how hard he tried to get in the door wouldn’t shift, it was key encoded which meant he had to know the right combination code to open it. There was also a well stocked gym, at least he wouldn’t get that bored whilst on their journey, his mind cast back to the Mercs, and there were five of them so how come there were only two bedrooms? 

Alex stood in the middle of the corridor between bedrooms and noted that one was slightly roomier than the other, she knew that Jack would have to have one of the bedrooms, the young woman had told her that her relationship with the big guy was strictly friendship and nothing else which confirmed to her that she would have to have a room for herself.

“You can have that room” Alex said as she watched Jack approach with her pack, smile, thank her and then disappear into the bedroom closing the door after her.

“Then I guess you and me have this one” Riddick approached and stood against the door frame of the other bedroom as Alex moved inside, had a good look round then sat down on the edge of the bed testing the springs in the mattress and finding them adequately firm.

“Guess so” she replied as she slowly took her coat off and draped it over a nearby chair.

The bed was king size which meant plenty of room for both of them and plenty of space between them once lying on it, there was an unspoken boundary as Riddick slowly walked over to the bed and sat down on the opposite side. This wasnt a new twist of events for either of them but neither of them were prepared to sleep uncomfortably in either the pilots chair or worse still, the bath tub so both were equally shocked when neither of them offered to take up the bath tub or the pilots chair.

“There’s a weapons locker in this room, didn’t think the kid needed to be in this one in case she got herself into trouble playing with the sharp objects” Alex said as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

“Jack can handle herself” Riddick replied.

“So I’ve noticed” she said as she brought her feet up and placed her hands behind her head on the pillow.

Riddick shifted on the bed and swung his legs over so that he lay outstretched on it, the woman on his left made no attempt to move or show any discomfort that he had joined her on the bed, he relaxed a little as from the other side of the corridor and from behind a closed door he could hear music emanating, Jack had obviously found some music data chips, at least it broke the silence. He wondered how this was going to work then decided he was thinking too much seeing as she didnt have too much trouble accepting the fact that they would be sharing a bed unless they took shifts which would negate the fact that they would spend any time together in the bedroom.

He rolled over onto his left side to find her eyes closed and her breathing regulated and calm, his goggled eyes ran down the entire length of her body as she slowly rolled over herself and showed her back to him. He noted the Celtic tattoo that graced the small of her back, matching the one that circled her navel, which now sat comfy just above the top of her combat trousers, her hair although in a ponytail was jet black highlighted with perfect cherry red low lights that looked soft in the ambient light of the room. 

Her arms were muscled but not overly so she still had the curves in all the right places and never could be mistaken for a man, his mind cast back to Jack and how she had started to fill out in her teenage years. Alex knew he was staring at her back even through the goggles he wore, she had learned that he wore them because his eyes were too sensitive to the light, daylight, in fact any kind of light but in low light and darkness he felt the most comfortable.

“Lights, ten percent” she said aloud as the light sensitivity decreased to a soft glow, enough to make out lines and shapes.

“My favourite” he whispered as he slid the goggles off of his head and into a pocket.


	7. MORONS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

She had slept, she wasn’t sure for how long but it felt good to recharge the batteries, she tilted her head over to where he was asleep, or was he? Still, she needed to stretch her legs and she was thirsty so in one movement she had rolled off of the bed and was striding towards the door, quietly opening and closing it before he had a chance to say anything to her. She had spotted the crate of beer bottles in the aft section of the ship hours earlier amongst other rations, slowly she made her way to the back of the ship only to be brought to a halt as a figure launched himself at her crashing into her and then onto the floor. 

Springing up and into an immediate defensive position she pulled a shiv from her boot and slowly gauged the area in front of her as the figure pulled his own blade out, one of the Mercs from the station had obviously crept on board and been hiding, waiting for the opportune moment and he had found it. She moved forwards then and had grabbed him, lifted his body slightly and pushing him up against a small glass cabinet smashing the glass, the sound of it echoing through the ship as the Merc caught her in the shoulder with a blade he had hidden on himself. From her right she had heard the heavy footsteps of boots as Riddick was instantly awake at the first sound of noise and as he made it into the corridor Jack’s bedroom door opened.

“Stay there” he pointed to her as he leant over and closed her door again before shifting his gaze to where Alex had the Merc pinned.

Leaning back, Alex head butted the Merc not once but twice to break his grasp on her as she let him go but he was stronger than most Mercs and in that second she had dropped him he had made off down the corridor with her flat out running after him. Bending down she grabbed the shiv that had fallen from out of her hand and took off after the Merc hearing the heavy footfalls closing in fast from behind, footfalls she recognised in the empty corridors of the ship.

“Son of a bitch” she muttered as she skidded to a halt, the lights going from dim to nothing. 

A hand on her shoulder stopped her from advancing any further as Riddick took another step forwards in front of her pulling her backwards and scanned the area ahead, she looked across to him and studied his face, shine jobs were getting rarer and she hadn’t seen someone with a shine like that in years until now. She kept close though as he moved forwards slowly only to stop when she thought she had heard a noise from her left, Riddick had missed it and had continued onwards. She tilted her head round to stare into the inky blackness of the room having not memorised all the rooms she wasn’t too sure where they were on the ship but the noise sounded like someone had accidentally knocked something. 

Reaching down to her other shiv she pulled it slowly from out of her boot and stood upright once more before making her way inside the dark room, the door suddenly closing behind her and locking. She stood very quietly for a long few seconds as she tried to adjust to the complete blackness, she saw something move out of her peripheral vision and felt a presence in the room as she ducked and felt the air shift around her. The Merc was in the room with her and now toying with his victim but Alex had learnt a long time ago to rely on other senses when one had been blinded by either a lack of sight or a lack of light, her training had bought her many extra lives in the whole scheme of things.

“Why wont you fucking die” the male voice was angry as it came at her full force, pushing her into the corner of the room by the door

Riddick had heard the commotion and hadn’t made it in time when the door locked shut, already at his side Jack was pulling out a small data pad and had hot wired it to the access panel to the keypad and was furiously hitting the data pad whilst trying to hold a small mini torch in her mouth, at this moment Riddick felt useless. He could hear the sounds from within and deep down inside, his head had stopped telling him how much of an idiot he was, his mind had completely shut off where she was concerned, now his gut was leading his instincts and his instincts were telling him he needed to get in behind that bloody door.

“Hurry up Jack” he said as he heard the banging inside the room intensify along with the sounds of shouting and grunting.

“Shut up” she muttered through her lips as she tried not to drop the torch from her mouth, her fingers were moving quickly as they hit barrier after encrypted barrier.

“Open the door Jack” he rested the palms of his hands against the cool steel door frame.

“Oh shit, oh shit…its on a cycle” Jack panicked then as Riddick looked down to her.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“The door, it’s been put on a countdown, it’s the fucking airlock…I can’t stop it from here, I’ll have to try the main cockpit” she pulled the wires and ran without waiting for his permission towards the main flight deck where she jacked back into the system.

“Fucking open this door” he began to beat his fists on the cold surface.

“C’mon you piece of shit, work” Jack smacked the top of the control panel as she heard the first of the sirens engage and the audible countdown begin.

“You set the timer? You fucking moron” Alex hissed at the Merc as he was catapulted forwards hitting the front airlock doors.


	8. A CLOSE CALL

As she heard him drop she returned her attention back to the main door where she tried pulling on the handle to no avail, hitting it with her fists as she looked above the door to see a red flashing bulb start to throb in the darkness marking the countdown was almost finished. A slight rise in panic had set in as she looked back to see the outer doors beginning their cycle, eyes wide she returned to the inner air lock doors and hammered hard on them shouting at the top of her voice.

“Open this fucking door” she shouted through to the other side thinking nobody could hear her through the triple plated inner air lock doors.

“Were trying hold on” his voice boomed back at her, which gave her some small amount of reassurance that she wasnt so alone after all.

“Well try fucking harder” she screamed as she heard the sound of hissing as the doors started their cycle open sequence.

“JACK” Riddick roared as he heard the siren throughout the whole ship, the red hues swathed the entire ship as per regulation, a note to other passengers and crew that the air lock doors were in the process of opening.

“Almost got it…almost there” Jack muttered as she brought up the deactivation window, her fingers flying quicker than she thought humanly possible.

Alex looked around her for something to hold, the only stable thing was the handle of the door itself which she gripped onto just as the Merc grabbed it too, his eyes passionate for her to allow him to not die in such a horrific way. She was about to argue the point when the airlock stopped part way from opening and started to close again as the lights came on illuminating the airlock itself, she let go of the handle and saw the Merc properly for the first time. 

He smiled at her as he rested his hands on his thighs and took in a few deep breaths, she smiled back and stretched her back before reaching her hand down at him, he laughed and took it as her other fist came down and smashed him in the face and as he dropped to the floor she kicked him in the groin just as the door opened to reveal Riddick stood in the doorway.

“Well, you took your fucking time” she looked up at him before looking down to the Merc who rolled back and forth on the floor.

“I like to make an entrance” he replied with a wink as he stared down to the man.

“I need a fucking vacation” she muttered as she walked slowly past him just as Jack made her way back to the corridor.

“Jesus, you look like shit” Jack grimaced at the split lip and the now forming bluish red bruise surrounding her left eye.

“Thanks” she patted her on the shoulder and disappeared into the bedroom and the bathroom that was en-suite looking for the med kit. 

Her shoulder throbbed from the knife attack earlier, it wasn’t that deep a cut but enough for her to be covered in her own blood that trickled down her left shoulder and arm, it would need a couple of stitches as would the cut just above her eye. Riddick had grabbed the collar of the coat belonging to the Merc and was dragging him to one of the smaller cargo rooms that was empty, throwing him inside he locked the door and turned to leave bumping into Jack on the way.

“Leave him alone, and Jack?” he stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder.

“Yeah?” she tilted her head at him questioningly.

“Good job” he smiled before walking back towards the bedroom where he found the bathroom door open and Alex perched on the toilet rifling through the contents of the med kit.

“Let me” he said as he walked in and changed the light settings so his eyes weren’t burnt by the intensity of the light.

“So, where would you go?” he asked as he started to clean her wounds.

“What?” she looked at him

“You said something about a vacation, where would you go?” he asked again.

“Anywhere that didn’t have a bounty on my head, those places are few and far between” she muttered as his fingers softly attended to her shoulder.

“Ten stitches ought to do it” he said as he leaned across to get the thread and the sterilized needle, there were no fancy medical equipment here, this wasnt a long voyage kind of vessel so only the basic of tools were to hand.

“Figures” she muttered as she leaned her head up against the cold cistern and sighed as a bottle of beer was thrust into her face.

“May help dull the pain” Jack said as she watched Alex take the bottle and nod in appreciation.

“Thanks” Alex unscrewed the top and took a few mouthfuls before she felt Riddick’s touch on her skin once more.


	9. SCARS & COFFEE

“You got many scars?” Jack asked as she perched herself on the rim of the bath watching Riddick’s precision stitching start.

“Haven’t we all? I’ve a few, comes with the territory but then again you should know all about that huh Jack?” Alex tilted her head across to where Jack was sat watching the young woman bow her head and nod once.

“Yeah” Jack whispered her reply.

“Hey, don’t look so down hearted, you’re a survivor Jack, you’ve lived on your wits which is more than some people can only have nightmares about…how many sixteen year girls do you know that can hot wire a computer and hack the airlock codes on a locked down door, not that many I grant you, you’ve got balls kid, bigger ones than most men I’ve come into contact with” Alex’s words seemed to brighten the younger woman’s face as she looked up and smiled coyly.

“Thanks” Jack said as she got up and left them to it.

Riddick worked in silence as he listened to the older experienced woman hand out the advice that Jack needed to hear and by the same token acknowledged that Jack had just saved her life, something he himself couldn’t of done. Alex eyes closed briefly as she calmed her breathing feeling the pull of the thread as Riddick finished stitching her shoulder before applying a sterile pad to it to keep it clean then tipped her head over so he could see the wound above her eye better.

“A couple in here should be enough” he said as he cleaned the dried blood from above and around her eye.

“He must’ve come on before I got to the ship, even paid the docking chief, bastard” she said as she took another mouthful of the cold beer.

“He’ll regret that he did…there, all done” Riddick said as he felt no flinch from her as he carried out the remainder of the stitches and tied them off, again covering with a small sterile strip.

“Not bad…thanks” she replied as she pulled back and shook her head, the bruising on her left temple staring back at her. She handed him the half empty bottle and got up to look at herself in the mirror, leaning on closer for a better inspection of her shoulder, clean and neat work from someone obviously versed in the human body.

“You should get some rest” he put the med kit away and after washing his hands left her in the bedroom heading to the kitchen.

“Love to, have a bit of business first” she smiled as heard him leave, taking a gun from the weapons locker she proceeded out the room and down the hall to where he had locked the Merc away, she pressed the palms of her hands up against the locked door and inside could hear the Merc trying desperately to find a way out.

Closing her eyes she rested her forehead up against the cool surface and just stood there, the guy needed dusting that was for sure and as much as she had wanted to do him right there and then she was just too tired to put up a fight, putting a bullet in his head was far too easy and non-entertaining. Rolling over so that she slouched up against the door, she slowly slid down and came to a stop on he floor as she felt the rest of her strength leave her body, Riddick was right, she needed to sleep but couldn’t will herself back to the bedroom. 

Never mind she smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and felt the comforting lull of unconsciousness take over her, Riddick shook his head and sighed, from his vantage point he had seen the conflict in her eyes as she gave in to exhaustion. Walking slowly over he picked her up and carried her sleeping form back to the bedroom laying her gently down and pulling the blanket up over her. Her hands were cold, he noted this when he tried to prise the gun from her fingers but she had stubbornly held onto it and after making sure the safety was still on allowed her to keep a hold of it.

Jack had spent much of her time going through the belongings in the bedroom she now occupied, she had found the data storage device and its music files contained therein, she wasted no time in putting the thing on as it had been so long since she last heard any form of sound other than the ones that invaded her nightmares. She had found a couple of journals, mostly inane male stuff with ranting about Mercs and a daily log of personal musings and other nonsense but she had read some of it anyway, she also found a hidden stash of credits which she pocketed for future endeavours. 

She had watched the way the new stranger had such an impact on not only her but especially Riddick, in that male kind of way too and she wasn’t all that bothered about it, in fact she welcomed it. Turning the music off she slouched from off the bed and made her way to the galley kitchen where she looked over the rations and finally made her mind up on chicken casserole. It would fill the void in the pit of her stomach as she prepared it and sat down to eat the meal, pouring herself a cup of water she sipped at the cool liquid as she returned her attention back to the dinner.

“How is it?” Riddick appeared nodding down to her plate as he pulled something from the cupboard for himself.

“Hot…not bad actually, tasted worse” she replied as she took another mouthful and watched him prepare his meal before sitting down opposite her.

“You okay?” he asked in general and she knew what he meant.

“Yeah, fine…I found some UD’s. Personal logs and journals, a map of where they had been and a list of bounties they earmarked to pick up as well as some music” she replied as she carried on eating.

“So I’ve heard…list of bounties?” his interest piqued.

“Yeah, already looked through them, you’re on it, I’m on it although for quite a substantial amount lower than yours and she’s on it for quite a substantial amount higher than yours” she smiled as she sat back and drank from her cup.

“Really?” he noticed the grin on her lips getting bigger.

“Liar” he muttered, shaking his head and almost smiling himself.

“Actually, no, I’m not” she raised an eyebrow at him before reaching behind her to the counter top and pulled the file she had been reading, sliding it across to him.

Riddick flipped through the bounties on file finding his and Jack’s net to one another, Jack’s was guilt by association at first but the bounty had risen somewhat when Jack became more active and had taken lives, something he blamed himself for. He carried on reading and found hers; Alex Delaney was infamous to bounty hunters as one of the ultimate catches along with his own, triple max slams seemed to have problems holding onto her for any length of time. Ribald S, Tangiers, and even Crematoria were all listed as ones she had escaped from, an impressive list for sure, so what was her list of crimes, he scanned further down. 

Murder, so they did have something in common after all, he closed the file and looked up to see Jack looking back at him with an all too knowing smile on her face, he shook his head.

“I like her, she reminds me of you although a female version of you but without the shine job” she waved her hand at his eyes dismissively.

“Hardly” he replied as he pushed another forkful of food into his mouth.

“What are we going to do about the Merc?” she asked as she rose and cleaned her plate and glass.

“We are doing nothing, I will see to him, you will return to your room and stay there” he said as he stood, she turned round and frowned.

“God, I’m not a child anymore Riddick so please don’t treat me like one” her determined glance in his direction was followed by her stomping off down the corridor followed then by a slamming door.

“Women” he muttered, shaking his head.


End file.
